My Family And Moe, Larry, And Curly

So, I would first like to thank all those who shared their well wishes. It is deeply appreciated. Also, my wife is home safe and sound and taking it easy.

Some good news. The blood test done Monday morning by the oncologist came back negative. Now apparently, well not actually, the attending physician (Who in retrospect went to the Wendy Kopp School of Medicine) in White Plains Hospital made the call that the CT scan showed lymphoma and that a biopsy was needed immediately. But more on this later.

So after consulting with her internist/GP whose specialty is oncology said that though he doesn't want to say he is optimistic, but rather a realist, wishes to do things in order, and not do anything that is invasive or not necessary as of now.

As her regular doctor explained, the nodes are still inflamed, but not to the point in which it can denote lymphoma. This can be caused by an infection, virus, and certainly the pneumonia. So once this is all cleared out of her system, then the necessary and proper steps will be take such as a PET scan. So we are not quite out of the woods, but breathing (pardon the pneumonia pun) much better.

So how does this all tie into education you might ask yourself. I'll tell you. Much to our surprise and chagrin when she went to the ER and then later admitted from the doctor's (another doctor examined her, he is just a GP) office on Saturday, this doctor did not have admitting rights to the hospital. Why you might ask? Because, as was explained to me, the hospitals are now denying, at least in the NYC area admitting rights to regular old "Doc Jones." And not just admitting rights, but denying any consult rights as well.

This leaves you without a lack of choice in YOUR doctor, without the doctor you have a relationship with. Without the doctor you trust. We are told by the ed deformers that choice is a must in education, that choice is what is best. So why is choice (And in now way am I speaking out about Obama care) not a requisite in one's medical care and why isn't anyone raising holy hell about this pattern in hospitals?

Now mind you, if you are a GP and do have a specialty such as gastroenterology, or oncology, or urology, then the hospital will give you full rights. But it seems that this pattern only leads to the filling of the pockets of the hospital itself.

Another thing came upon my mind while dealing with all this mishegas. We are quite lucky, quite fortunate to have health insurance. Not only for routine care, but emergency care, hospitalization, and of course any unforeseen somewhat catastrophic stuff. There are millions out there that if diagnosed with cancer have no place to turn. Which got me to thinking....

Isn't having access to full medical care a civil right? We keep on hearing from the deformers that education is the civil rights issue of our time. But wait a minute. All children do have access to education. Not all children, or even adults for that matter, have access to full medical care. Shouldn't the lack of medical care be known as the civil rights issue of our time and for hedge fund managers, business people, and former Microsoft CEO's be just as appalled at the lack of decent medical care for approximately 43 million people?

And it's just not in the inner city where medical care is lacking. I guarantee that we could find at least 10 people in Scarsdale, Bronxville, Upper Saddle River, Roslyn, Great Neck that have zero access to medical care and/or health insurance. I must call shenanigans and make claim that these ed deformers are not only charlatans, but grifters and hypocrites. I call on NBC and Microsoft to spend a week putting together propaganda about the lack of access to medical care and health insurance that affects so many in this country. That I will support.

Anyway, thank you all again for the well wishes and prayers. I will be back to my usual sarcastic and snarky self lambasting and ridiculing those that wish for it so desperately.